Two critical aspects of ad effectiveness are attention and engagement. Greater attention coupled with greater engagement leads to greater brand recall and purchase intent. But in this distracting
and fragmented media world, these metrics have been difficult to quantify and measure. How does a marketer capture consumer attention to an ad and make a positive connection with that consumer to the
product advertised?
In a recent study soon to be published by the Journal of Advertising Research, researchers at the Université de Rennes have
been able to quantify ad affinity by taking into account the direction of the facial gaze of the model in a print ad using eye tracking. Eye tracking is a sensor technology that follows the movement
of the eye to determine the level of attention and focus on stimuli.
In order to get an unbiased reaction, three types of ads for gender-neutral products were embedded in the same
bottom right-hand page position within editorial content. One ad had only the product, one had the product with the model gazing directly at the reader and the third had the model gazing at the
product.
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The Importance of Directed Gaze
The results show that the presence of a face in a print ad as well as the direction of the model’s gaze
impacts the viewer’s retention and favorability towards the ad and product. A model gazing at the product, as opposed to having no human face in the ad or a gaze directed toward the viewer, has
a strong positive influence on attention to and recall of the advertisement and on purchase intent.
That people are more attentive to faces (and eyes in particular) than to
non-facial stimuli has been proven out through studies of both babies and adults. In fact, as we age we are even more attentive to faces. Further, previous research has also shown that when a
person’s gaze is averted, different parts of the brain will become activated and the viewer will follow and focus their attention to the object of that gaze. The takeaways have important
implications for advertisers:
- Having a human face in the ad increases the attention paid to all the advertisement elements including a product and brand. The
product receives even more attention when the model’s gaze direction is toward the product, versus toward the viewer.
- Having a human face that is
gazing at the product itself is the best combination to improve product and brand memorization, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intention.
- Objective attention measures such as eye tracking are helpful testing tools to ascertain attention, recall and engagement and are therefore of great benefit to brand
managers.
Conclusion
While there have been many studies that research the impact of specific model attributes in advertising on
consumers, from attractiveness, gender, age, celebrity and ethnicity, few have taken into account the model’s overall general presence regardless of specific attributes.
In
this study, the researchers took into account the positive psychological impact that face and eyes have on capturing viewer attention. This insight was then applied to measuring ad effectiveness. The
impact and influence of model presence not only cuts through the ad clutter but also increases attention, recall, evaluation and attitude toward the advertisement, the brand and purchase
intent.